How to edit with third-party apps and extensions in Photos

Learn how to edit photos and videos with third-party extensions in Photos for iOS and macOS. And find out how Photos and third-party apps work together on your Mac.

Third-party apps and extensions expand your editing options in Photos for iOS and macOS. You can apply edits from multiple apps and extensions to one photo, or use any combination of apps and extensions plus the editing tools built into Photos.

Install apps that allow editing or offer extensions

Use the App Store on your device to find and install apps that allow full editing from Photos or include extensions for Photos. Apps that include Photos extensions usually say so in their descriptions; search for terms like "Photos extension" to explore more apps.

Photos for macOS High Sierra makes finding third-party apps easy:

Double-click a photo in your library to open it in single view, then click Edit.

Click , then choose More.

The Mac App Store opens to a selection of third-party photo editing apps that are compatible with Photos.

Turn on extensions on your Mac

After you install apps that include Photos extensions on your Mac, turn the extensions on:

Choose Apple () menu > System Preferences, then click Extensions.

Click Photos Editing in the left sidebar. Your apps that include Photos extensions appear.

Turn on the extensions that you want to use in Photos. You can also drag them up or down to adjust the order that they appear in Photos.

Turn on extensions on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

After you install apps that include Photos extensions on your iOS device, turn the extensions on:

Open the Photos app, then tap a photo.

Tap Edit, and then tap .

In the menu that appears, swipe to the left until you see the More button, and then tap it.

You see your apps that include Photos extensions. You can turn them on or off, or drag them up or down to change their order. When you’re finished, tap Done.

Edit photos with extensions on your Mac

Double-click a photo in your library to open it in single view, then click Edit.

Click .

Choose an app from the menu that appears.

Edit the photo with the extension's tools that appear to the right.

When you're satisfied with your edits, click Save Changes. You can choose another extension to apply more edits to the photo, or use any of the editing tools that are built into Photos.

If you're finished with all edits, click Done to exit the edit mode.

Edit photos within third-party apps on your Mac

With Photos for macOS High Sierra, you can send a photo to most third-party photo apps for editing, then save the changes right back into your library.

Control-click a photo and choose Edit With from the contextual menu. Then choose from the list of third-party editing apps on your Mac. You can also click a photo and then choose Image > Edit With in the menu bar.

The photo opens in the third-party app that you chose. Make your edits, and then save. If the app saves photos in a non-standard format, look for an option to save as JPEG or another format that Photos supports.

Your edited photo appears automatically in Photos.

Edit photos with extensions on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

Open the Photos app, then tap a photo.

Tap Edit, then tap .

Select an app from the menu that appears.

Edit the photo with the extension's tools.

When you're satisfied with your edits, click Done. You can choose another extension to apply more edits to the photo, or use any of the editing tools that are built into Photos.

If you're finished with all edits, click Done to exit the edit mode.

Learn more

When you edit a photo with third-party extensions or the built-in tools that Photos offers, you can always start over with the original photo. Open the photo in edit mode, then click Revert to Original on your Mac or tap Revert if you're using an iOS device.

If you use iCloud Photo Library, remember that it keeps your photos organized and up to date everywhere that you use the same Apple ID. So any edits that you make on one device appear on your other devices too.

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